Some Days You Are The Bug

Participants:

elisabeth_icon.gif jaiden_icon.gif remi_icon.gif trask_icon.gif

Scene Title Some Days You Are The Bug
Synopsis Called a whore and an anxiety attack…. yay, it's a great day.
Date June 8, 2011

Skinny Brickfront, Endgame Safehouse


When she finally shows up in the common areas, it's late. Well after dark. Elisabeth pads through the safehouse 'living room' with her small flashlight in hand heading for the kitchen space to retrieve a bottle of water. She is weary but not sleepy yet, her thoughts still awhirl with conflicting thoughts and her emotions in complete turmoil. Although Jaiden's company helps, there are just some things that require time more than anything else to cope with.

Remi's taken up a position in the kitchen; it's close enough that it allows her to hear outside of the door for the thoughts of any potential visitors to the safehouse. She may not be the best at always staying awake for it, but she does take her 'guard duty' seriously, thinking of herself as a sort of 'first alert' for those staying within. No sneak attacks here.

It also means that she is acutely aware of just about everything that is going on inside of the safehouse, too. For example, she knows most of the reason why Elisabeth is so distraught this evening, and thankfully, two cups of tea are resting on a makeshift table; one is steaming. The other is being carefully sipped by Remi as she waits.

"Liz," she murmurs this softly, turning to peer at the woman. "You sounded like you need some tea."

Her jaw clenches and Elisabeth cannot stop the instinctive mental rejection of those words. Her blue eyes narrow. "You have got to get some control over the eavesdropping, Remi. Seriously." Her tone is cool and calm, but her thoughts are absolutely not. "It makes everyone in the building uncomfortable to think that you're constantly listening to their private thoughts. And while doing this? Is nice. It's also…. a breach of my privacy." That is to say, she doesn't want people other than those she chooses to share her personal life with to get carte blanche to know things. She does, however, stop at the table and say, "Thank you… for the tea."

Remi frowns quietly, turning to peer at the tea. "I can't 'elp it. I 'ave trouble blocking ze…ze voices out, zese days." She frowns quietly up to Liz, running a hand through her hair. Stress does indeed make it more difficult for Remi to reign in her power. "I want to 'elp 'ere…I try to keep my telepathy focused on ze outside, but when I'm listening, I'm listening."

Blue eyes turn back down to her tea once again. Stress is the problem here. She has trouble 'turning it off' when she's stressed out. And there is definitely no shortage of stress in Remi's life. "Sometimes, I just use zat instead of talking, without even thinking about it…I'm not trying to be a creepy telepath."

Stress also makes Remi depressed. "If you would razer I leave…I will."

"I understand that it's hard to block it out," Elisabeth begins. She sips her tea, and then tilts her head. "How about I put it to you this way, then? This is how I tried to explain it to Aric — just because you hear it doesn't mean you should…. bring it up. Or act on it. Or even acknowledge that you heard it. Unless someone makes a point of bringing it up to you. In this case?" She nods to the tea. "I …. appreciate that you wanted to help me. And you didn't *ask* me about it, but …. perhaps instead of saying I 'sounded like' I needed tea, you could have just… said 'I made some tea if you'd like some' and just politely ignored the elephant that's in the room?" she tries.

"I don't want you to leave, Remi — I want to make it so that you can stay without pissing off everyone who lives in the house. Both for your sake and for theirs," Elisabeth points out with a bit of a smile. "Being a telepath has to be the suckiest of powers, honestly. You hear more than you ever wanted to know about anyone's business…. but you have the social savvy to understand what I'm saying about politely pretending you know nothing."

Remi tips her head toward Elisabeth, thoughtfully watching the woman with those blue eyes. That…sounds doable. Sometimes it's difficult to separate what is said with a voice and what is said with a mind…so being ambiguous might be the right way to go. "I try…I really do. I don't know why, but lately…I 'ave more trouble zan I usually do. I'm sorry."

She falls quiet for a moment, fidgeting with her teacup. "It is an awful ability, sometimes. I spent three years wishing zat I didn't 'ave ze ability. It ruined my dancing career. It is difficult, dancing an entire ballet with ze thoughts of 'undreds of people blotting out ze music. Some of zem thinking at normal volumes, some shouting in zeir minds…" She frowns. "I will give it more effort…"

"Thank you," Elisabeth says quietly. "I know that it's seriously disturbing both Graeme and Devon, and …. right now, they need to feel safe here. That situation with Humanis First has compromised Devon's and Melissa's identities, and them realizing that you were the third is just a matter of time. I can't protect you if you're all … grating on one another," she explains. And then she sips the tea.

The woman offers a slow nod, turning her eyes down toward the tea cup. She tenses up a little as Graeme is mentioned, a frown set over her features. That's a sensitive area for Remi right now, one that leaves her cursing her abilities. Especially the fact that she can see things now. The fact that she knows about Graeme and Liz can solely be blamed on her ability. After a long moment, Remi sips her tea in silence, trying not to frown too much.

Elisabeth is not blind. "Wanna tell me what's going on with you?" she asks quietly. "Beyond the fact that your abilities are evolving? I thought you and Graeme were friends."

Quietly, Remi peers over her tea cup at Liz. This here is one issue that will be difficult to broach, if only because it's an example of her using her ability to peek where she isn't supposed to, intentional or not. In this case, it was unintentional, but it's still something that she wouldn't know about, wouldn't be upset about, if it weren't for her ability.

"I kissed 'im." She lets that rest between them, for the moment, sipping at her tea.

Elisabeth sips the tea, considering the words…. and the rest of what may remain unspoken. Mulling over Graeme's possible reactions to that. And as much as she'd like to ask 'and what happened?', she kind of figures that it didn't go over well from the grimace. "You knew he was involved with Aric and not overly interested in women," she observes gently. Her tone is neutral, as are her thoughts really. People have a right to their own feelings. "That said…. " She purses her lips. "I figure I know what you happened upon." She knows what touch does to Remi's ability. "Are you angry at him, me, or both?" Pragmatic. That's Liz.

"I did know zat, yes." she murmurs quietly, turning her eyes back down to her nearly empty tea cup. "And…zat would 'ave 'urt a lot less." She quietly skirts around the subject of what she saw, up until Liz points out what it is. Astute. Reading into the telepath's mind. "I really don't know." A pause of reflection. "'Im, mostly. I 'ave…cared for 'im, for a very long time, and done my best to show it to 'im." She drains the last of her tea. "I am still trying to sort it all out, really…"

Elisabeth nods slightly. "He can be quite oblivious," she agrees easily. Blue eyes study Remi. "I'm not going to tell you that you're foolish for feeling hurt — emotions are what they are." Her own personal issues with that make her stomach clench right now, honestly. The tea is nice… it's settling the feeling of anxiety a little. And she points out softly, "Just remember that he can't help his either."

"It's not just 'urt…" Remi pauses, regarding her now empty cup of tea. This would be a perfect chance to excuse herself, like she always does when faced with difficult things, but…she'll stay. She'll talk. "I've never really felt real jealousy until I saw what I saw." Finally, her icy blue gaze flits back to Liz, head tilting to one side. "I care for 'im. And I 'ave come to care for you, as well." She won't go into specifics about how she views Liz as a powerful, strong woman; the memories she has seen from Liz have more than proven that image true.

Standing, Remi moves over to the kettle, picking it up in preparation of refilling her cup, and topping Liz off if needed.

Elisabeth offers her cup for a refill, willing to sit here with Remi if that's what's needed. Hell, maybe helping Remi will help Liz's own issues. Probably not. "Thank you," she says quietly. "I…. can't say I know what you're feeling." She doesn't really do jealousy any more than she does monogamy. "But I'm not heartless either. I'm sorry that you're jealous, Remi." There's little she can really offer beyond that. "I don't honestly believe any of us choose where our hearts go. I wish… that emotions were simple and easy. More often than not they're about the messiest things ever," she observes drily. "You going to be able to work through it?"

Remi fills Liz's tea cup, quietly avoiding eye contact for the moment. Then, after she's got her tea cup filled, she settles in once more, crossing her legs at the ankles as she sips at the beverage. "I will be fine," she murmurs quietly, peering down at her tea quietly. "I just need time to work through all of zis." She finally ventures to peer at Liz, a thoughtful look on her fair features. "And I will work through it."

Normally, Remi doesn't do jealousy. It's a rather unfamiliar emotion, for her. Sharing never really bothered her; it's moreso the forbidden fruit factor, and she really just needs to have a good long pout about it.

Elisabeth is a pretty reasonable judge of character but she's not precisely familiar with jealousy either. The one time she felt it wasn't really over the lover, it was over something given, albeit inadvertantly, to the other lover that she herself had asked for. But even that she's over now. She tilts her head at Remi and nods. "This is not the life you're used to," she says softly. "It's going to be harder than you think. This is a small group, and your ability makes a number of them uncomfortable." But they've already addressed Remi using her social skills to start biting her own tongue. "Out there in the world, you're a famous and wealthy woman — here, you're just one of the gang. If you need help with things, all you have to do is ask." The unspoken part of that, of course, is nicely.

A slow nod confirms that Remi is listening to Elisabeth, her eyes returning to her tea. "I am trying to get used to it. It is difficult." She runs a hand through her hair once. "And I am trying to get used to seeing things. Memories." She pauses for a long moment, taking a long sip of her tea. There's something else she's been meaning to tell Liz. "Ze man from your 'Umanis First nightmares…ze one who said something about bagels…" A pause. "I saw 'im. 'E was ze one 'oo came out of nowhere and ambushed us."

Elisabeth goes still, her mind picking out those final moments, the ones that Remi relived with her not that long ago. So cold. Agonizing pain. Things low in her body broken, bleeding internally. Arms numb from being tied over her head with barbed retraints, the pole at her back the only thing holding her upright by the barbed restraint around her throat. "Maybe she doesn't like bagels." *CLICK*

And for the first time in over a year, panic swells to life in the blonde ex-cop stealing her breath away with its power. Her heart starts beating so hard in her chest that it seems like it's going to come out and there's a roaring in her ears. The rumble of not-quite-sound, so low a bass that it shakes everything in the room, pours through the room and then instantly shuts off. Elisabeth drops the tea cup to the floor, lurches to her feet gasping, and gropes for the spool serving as a table. She's actually shocked that it's happening.

Oh. Well then, she wasn't expecting that. Remi draws back briefly, staring up at Liz with wide blue eyes. It's uncomfortable, the bass shaking her bones just as much as it is shaking the room around her. Suddenly, Remi moves to her feet as well, reaching out and taking the blonde audiokinetic's hands, giving them a comforting squeeze.

And then, she puts a single, calming thought into Liz's head. It's hardly detectable, by any stretch; a simple inclination that maybe calming down would be good. That it'll be okay; that he's not here right now, and she is safe. A voice of reason, you could say. All the while, she murmurs in soft, soothing tones to Liz in her native tongue.

"It'll be okay, Liz. 'E is not 'ere. 'E is long gone. Please, don't freak out…I'm sorry, I shouldn't 'ave said anything." Concern reflects deeply over her features as she tries to calm Liz.

It's not as if Elisabeth isn't already telling herself the same thing. The additional suggestion doesn't really help — panic on this level is not rational. You can't simply talk yourself out of it. Struggling to breathe she yanks her hands from Remi's and backpedals a little bit, warding Remi off with both hands. Her shoulders pull in tight as she shakes. The sound isn't there anymore but the rattling of everything in the room is staying steady, a vibration not really like an earthquake just a subtle tremor of everything. "D-d-d-d-don't," Liz gasps. "N-not y-y-y-y-your f…..fault," she struggles to get out. Shit.

Low rumbles often go unnoticed in this part of the city.

With the subway a dozen feet below ground, passing traffic, and the occasional collapse of something, little jolts aren't unheard of in this ruined part of the city, but when it's a low, sustained vibration that one can feel in the center of your chest, something is wrong with the resident sound manipulator. The last time Jaiden felt something like this was when Lizzie woke up in a panic, nearly shaking the roof off of the place with her wildly fluctuating power that she couldn't keep under control due to panic setting in, so rising quickly from his spot near the entrance and turning on the ball of his foot, Jaiden sprints up the stairs to the floor where the vibrations are coming from. It doesn't take long to pinpoint them, either - just follow the dancing dustmotes.

He doesn't barge in, either, he stops and knocks on the door, Remi more than likely getting a concerned thought or two as he slowly cracks the door and peers inside. "Lizzie? Remi? You girls okay?"

As Liz pulls away from Remi, the telepath settles back down on her seat, one hand going up to the side of her head. Hello, headache. Been a while since you reared your nasty, ugly head. Remi didn't miss you too much. She'll suffer through it, though; after a moment of flinching, she regains her posture, frowning over at Liz. "I should 'ave known…I'm so sorry, Liz." She runs a hand through her hair.

Then, Jaiden is making his tentative enterance, Remi's eyes drawn toward the doorway before Jaiden even makes his appearance. I'm sorry…I upset her. I said something about the voice from her nightmares…and she got really upset. I didn't mean anything by it…

"It's n-n-not th-th-th-th…" Elisabeth bites it off. Damn stutter. She fights to draw in deep breaths, struggling to quell it. She's backed into the corner at this point, lowering herself to a squat — her knees are shaking. Not your fault, she asserts strongly. God, she thought she was done with all this after all that has happened in the past year. Happens sometimes. Just need a minute. And Richard. Or Abby. Her blue eyes squeeze tightly closed and she buries her eyes in her palms. Can't talk right now. Which creates its own frustration, but on the up side she seems to have adapted to the telepathy thing.

Can you blame Jaiden for making a tentative entrance? In a house with sound manipulation, psychics and people who can bend gravity to their will, being sure you're entering a room where things are as they seem is better than barging in and having your eardrums blown out before you fall to the ceiling. He shakes his head in the negative, giving Remi a smile. "It's allright, Remi…you didn't know." It's a very sensitive subject that Elisabeth exposes to very few people - Jaiden could count the number on one hand, and even then, most of them aren't anywhere nearby except for maybe him.

Giving Remi's shoulder a light squeeze, Jaiden makes his way to the corner where Elisabeth sits, sinking down to the floor nearby, his back to one of the crumbling walls, the toes of his boots brushing against her feet lightly to let her know that he's here if she needs him. He doesn't know the contents of the nightmares - only that they're bad and they get the woman up screaming and vibrating the house occasionally, and has never asked. "Just breathe, Lizzie." his voice is soft and soothing - Remi may remember Jaiden's voice doing this the first time her powers manifested, trying to talk her down. "Concentrate on blowing out the bad air and darawing in the good.."

Remi quietly remains where she is, doing her best to ignore the headache that came along with her failed attempt to calm Liz. She's squinting a little, but maybe that's because of the fact that she just witnessed a little bit of the audiokinetic's ability. She lets Jaiden take the reigns in calming Elisabeth down, for now; in any case, her skin-to-skin contact also left her with some pretty vivid memories of Liz's time with Humanis First, and that's going to take some sorting out, too.

She'd cast Jaiden a dirty look if she had the energy. Instead, Elisabeth keeps on doing exactly what he's coaching her to do, grateful that he hasn't put his hands on her. "Shit," she murmurs, head bowed, her elbows resting on her knees where she squats on the balls of her feet. The adrenaline surge will leave her needing to sleep when it fully dissipates. For now, though, Elisabeth turns her head to look up at them both. "I'm ok-k-kay," she finally says. It's …. somewhat belied by the fact that the entire floor of this building has a subtle, inaudible but tangible vibration thrumming through it.

No, Elisabeth is not okay. Who could be okay after going through what she went through. The only way this woman will be able to get any sort of rest in the future is when the man who shot her in the head so callously is dead and they're sure of it. Perhaps something to do with an industrial shredder or a well-placed bomb in the man's toilet. There are so many ways…

Jaiden deserves that dirty look. He knows it sounds patronizing when he talks like that, but the calm does help ratchet down tense situations sometimes. Even with the thrumming of the bass through the floor, he remains where he's sitting, watching the blonde and the dancing fragments of plaster on the floor. A glance to remi and a thought follows for her to pick up - It's why we don't bring this up very often, and only when we have to. Lizzie has a hard time remembering that - it's one of the few things she can remember that far back. He gives Elisabeth a smile, nudging her foot again lightly. "I've got a box of ammunition with your name on it downstairs, Lizzie. Perfect for burning off some frustration."

Remi remains silent in her corner, watching Liz with a thoughtful look. The memories…it always feels a little real, even though she knows they're not hers. A little traumatizing. One thing is for certain: she is going to get Jaiden to show her how to use a damn gun. If she ever sees that man again before Liz does, kneecaps will go first. Or perhaps groinal areas. Then she'll let Liz have the rest.

Since when did she ever have such violent thoughts like she has right now? Perhaps the telepathy has a few good aspects; seeing the things she's seen from Liz's mind, she's growing a little bit more of a backbone than she had before. There's still some growing to be done, but she's getting there.

Whether that's a good or a bad thing is the real question.

Someone is playing his song, after a few minutes of hard rock drumming running through out the building a foot lands in the very center of Remi's door. Striking hard enough to force it open it is followd by the barrel of a Dragunux SVD, the long rifle has a ginger headed man with a pretty decent tan behind it. He quickly scans the barrel over those in the room, but not seeing any other weapons his stance remains tense but nonthreatening, "LIz?"

The boot to the door is not exactly the most reassuring thing to most people…. and Elisabeth's head whips around, her adrenaline given a target. If it were anyone but Norton Trask, they'd slam into the wall on the far side of the hallway from Remi's door. Lucky Norton — the force-wall sort of parts around his sphere of influence like a wave. The walls on either side of the door are not in the best shape. The plaster there cracks all over and sort of falls off in a cloud of dust. But nothing touches him. And Liz's blue eyes are very wide. "Oh shit. Uhm…. sorry?"

Luckily, Jaiden did not have his gun close by, otherwise three shots would have been placed about belt-buckle level and moving upward, ending about mid torso right between the collarbones. But he doesn't. He actually remains still, his head jerking toward the door, nearly moving in front of Elisabeth before his brain decides to click into play and realizing that she will, and did, send a wave of force directly at the entrance. He simply sits back against the wall and sighs. "Put the gun down, Trask." He sounds a little exasperated, even going so far as to toss a chunk of fallen plaster at the man. "We're working through it."

Okay, perhaps she doesn' have as much of a backbone as she thought. A shrill scream prompts Remi to duck down behind the table, her hands over her head. She doesn't have a vest on this time, so she's not too intent on getting shot at. Or shot. That would really, really suck. And then there's sound booms cracking the walls, and Remi lets out another squeak, ducking down a little more.

And then there's the fact that she can't hear the guy who just barged in with guns at the ready. Like he's got radio silence or something, there's nothing but silence coming from him. Possibly why she's freaking out so much; he may be one of the only people in New York who can sneak up on Remi. Quietly, the dark-haired woman peeks out from behind her oversized spool, staring at Trask with wide eyes.

He doesn't even blink as the walls on either side of him shake, not even flinching at the wave that comes across the room. Seeing the situation seems relativly secure the sniper rifle comes up and the saftey clicks on. He nods to Jaiden and Liz, "sorry comrades, just wanted to make sure everything was secure" It might still sound odd to Liz to hear the word comrades with a latino accent, some things still take some getting use to. His next phrase is said a little lower, almost under his breath but carries just the same in the sudden tense silence. It though is in Russian.

Elisabeth doesn't quite follow exactly what he says, but she started learning Russian a year ago and continued to do so… for reasons of her own. "Your m-m-m-mother would w-w-w-wash your m-m-mouth out with soap for th-th-that language," she retorts mildly, the stutter still in evidence and giving away the amount of strain it's taking to modulate at least her tone. Her expression is apologetic and as he steps into the room, the rumble finally eases. The blonde is still high on the adrenaline rush, but the blast toward the door seems to have at least taken the edge off. "I'm sorry, it was unexpected."

The blast to the door may have taken the edge off, but it also took some of the plaster off. With Liz occasionally causing audio destruction, this place may fall down around their ears before they know it! Good thing Jaiden is in the process of finding a new safe house and some fall back positions with Ygraine.

The russian he can detect _as_ russian, but what is said he has no clue, remaining in his spot on the floor for a moment, getting up and brushing himself off from the flecks of fallen plaster. "Interesting choice for a room-clearing weapon, Trask." There's a little teasing in his tone, Jaiden leaning against the wall, looking to Remi who is behind the spool, making his way over to help her to her feet. You okay?

Remi understands what Trask says, however, staring at him with a frown on her face, As Jaiden comes around to help her to her feet, she takes his hands, and then promptly leans against him, clutching at her shirt as she wearily eyes Trask. It is in Russian that she responds to the man, something akin to how he shouldn't barge in with a damn gun, a frown on her face. Then, she promptly rests her forehead against Jaiden's chest.

Into Jaiden's mind, she speaks, since she's thankfully still out of Trask's range. I'm fine. Just…have a headache, and…I can't hear that man.

Trask nods to Liz, he fully relaxes now, shouldering the rifle. "Understood, sorry for over reacting." He enters the room fully now, moving toward the three of them. He smiles with a little bit of a chagrin at Jaiden, "Yes, well I make do with what I have handy." He then glances over at Remi and drops into Russian, "I'm sorry about that, sounds like we got off on the wrong foot?" He steps toward her offering a hand.

Elisabeth is still struggling with the gasping breaths that come with the panic attack, but it's slowly settling. She shoves to her feet but remains leaning against the wall. "Remi… if you haven't met him yet, this is …. " She slants him a look, rolls her eyes, and says, "Your alias is only being used out there." Her tone is wry. "Norton Trask, meet Remi Davignon. She's the newest member of this little pack mutineers or whatever we are."

Jaiden pats Remi on the shoulder, giving her a quick squeeze as she curls against him, sighing. "Mr. Trask, there, from what I understand, is a perfect blank. Powers don't work around him at all if I recall correctly. And I've got some smaller guns for use in enclosed spaces….I can give you a sidearm that'll work much better than that." he nods towards Trask, as if seeking confirmation or correction to that statement regarding the powers. he pauses a moment, quirking his head. "We have aliases?"

And then, the telepath's mind goes silent. The background thoughts she's so used to, the buzz of being on the frequency of other's thoughts, goes away, and she is essentially left 'alone' in her mind. Remi doesn't like being negated; it's like going blind, or deaf, or all of the above. She stares at the man with wide blue eyes, staying nice and close to Jaiden.

Indeed, Remi stares at Trask's hand like he's an alien attempting to make first contact, or something to that effect. She doesn't make a move to touch him just yet, even as Liz introduces him. She's too busy coping with the sudden silence, the headache, and the new things she saw in Liz's head.

It is as a cautious animal approaching a human's hand, for the most part. Slowly, tentatively, as if she's frightened that touching the fellow will result in something Very Bad happening, Remi reaches out to take Trask's hand in a brief handshake. She doesn't really want to touch him right now. "Enchanté, Monsieur Trask.." Her voice is a bit flat, as if she's only greeting him because social custom demands it.

Trask says, "Davignon, were you related to Soleil Davignon? My mom was a huge fan of the Bolshoi. You look like you might be her sister or something?" He smiles softly, and lets the hand hang there for a few seconds till it is obvious she isn't going to take it, he then runs it back through his hair and sighs softly, grinning a little he takes two steps back, making sure Remi is at least 11 feet from him, before looking at Jaiden, "I don't know, I was always told no one is perfect.""

Elisabeth moves closer, placing herself in between the men but touching neither of them at this moment. The fine tremors of anxiety are still playing over her form but with Norton negating her, she's at least able to pull herself together. "I'm sorry for the … you know." She grimaces at Remi. "And I'm really sorry if you saw …. or God forbid… lived it." It was the mention of bagels in that context that tripped her over the edge.

Jaiden maintains his position, being comforting support to Remi, nodding to Trask. "Well, if we have aliases, it might be good to tell what we're supposed to be using other than having us make them up ourselves. Lord Nighthawk von Bismarck was starting to get a few odd looks down at the local bodega."

As she falls out of range once more, Remi's tension visibly melts away. The buzz returns, and she can hear again, and that makes her feel a little bit better. Blue eyes wearily watch the man, head tilting to the side. "I am Soleil." It makes sense, the willowy frame and elegant look to her. She used to be an almost ethereal being when she was up on that stage. Now, she's here.

She turns to peer over at Liz for a long moment, a vaguely haunted look on her face. "You don't 'ave to apologize. I was the one 'o touched you when…" She grimaces once, and turns to rest her head on Jaiden's chest once more. She's quite happy to cling to him. He's good about keeping his thoughts on the soothing side. Her rock in a storm, so to say.

Trask "ohh", the grizzeled ex cop-terrorist blushes a moment like a little school boy, "um pleased to meet you" He then turns to Liz speaking if anything a little to fast, His hand moves to rest on her back, tenderly, "You got things under control?" He smiles softly then his eyes move to Jaiden, "Lord Nighthawk von Bismark? Well that could be a good one, at least nothing like my last what, 5. Liz says I am getting too predictable."

"Norton keeps an alias for use on the streets because he's got a bit of history," Elisabeth offers softly. Standing within Trask's negation field, she is also invisible to Remi's telepathy. And she knows it. His hand on her back causes her to tense but only briefly, the teasing between the men going a long way toward easing her stress and the stutter. It's pretty much nonexistant though she's still shaking under Norton's hand a bit. "You are," she informs him. "Sci-fi movies and shows are just too easy to pick apart." There's a gentle smile quirking the corners of her mouth vaguely. Her blue eyes seek out and find Jaiden. "It wasn't anyone's fault. She, uhm….. they ran into Danko," she tells Jaiden quietly. "I'd have been okay, but I guess I'm …. facing off with Humanis First like this, knowing what we're doing, it keeps some of that at the forefront. Triggers are closer to the surface."

Jaiden's expression remains cool, but outside of Trask's negation field, Remi would be getting a mind full of quaint Australian swearing that is quickly twisted off. Olive eyes glance to the ground, his shoulders lifting slightly, then falling before he looks up. "We'll get him for you, Lizzie. Head on a pike after his trial and conviction in the Hague." He takes a deep breath and takes a step forward, one hand remaining on Remi's shoulder, the other reaching to clasp Lizzie's hand. "We're all under stress - you more than most." There's a light squeeze. "You need to take a break."

The ex-ballerina reaches up and takes Jaiden's hand, watching the others in complete silence. Trying to fight off the headache. Trying to rationalize the things she saw in Liz's mind. Trying not to death glare at Trask. So his ability is to negate people's abilities? That's not cool. She doesn't like it. Might be useful against enemies who happen to be evolved, but it's certainly not useful to her.

Trask says, "You'd prefer I go back to Bennet Dean, or Cameron Harrison?" He smiles to Liz, he then looks back at Jaiden and Remi, "Karl Agethon is what I am currently known as. Trust me I am aware of the problems with not keeping everyone informed of aliases." He rubs the back of his neck with his free hand wincing a little. "I told Liz she needs to take a vacation, she doesn't seem to beleive me.""

Elisabeth turns a bit paler at the mention of Cameron Harrison. "No," she tells Norton in that tone of alarm that she got the last time she learned he was using the name. "My… other son, he was using it as an alias as well. It's far too dangerous." She squeezes Jaiden's hand and then grins. "And where, precisely, would the lot of you like me to go? Phillip offered Australia, but being as that's fallen through, the only place I might be able to have time away is …. Christ, I don't even know." She pauses. And then smiles a little. "We'll rest when we're through, Norton," she says, privately amused at the mantra that has become so much a part of her. Jaiden will know the phrase well.

"Well, Australia is where I'm going to drag you when this is all over. I may not have the resources of Phillip, but I do have enough to get us lot to my family plot down under. But that's a one-way trip…we finish our work here, we go." There's a sort of final sounding tone to that in Jaiden's voice. He chuckles quietly. "We'll rest when we're through." He remains close to Elisabeth, holding her hand tight, resting the other on Remi's shoulder, then arm, holding her hand tight. "Let's just make plans. When we're done, we go. No questions asked. Somethign to strive towards. Something to keep us going when it looks dark."

"Marseille is beautiful, year round. We 'ave an enormous estate zere, my family." Remi tilts her head toward Liz. "Ze lavendar fields are beautiful." She squeezes Jaiden's hand once more. "My father is never zere, really." Then, after a moment, she raises to her feet, finally, glancing over the people gathered with a faint frown.

She needs some time to herself, she thinks. Some time to sort through what she saw. It's still bothering her. She lifts Jaiden's hand, kissing his knuckles once, before slipping away from the trio and heading for the door. "I need some time to…sort things out." It's true. There's a lot to think about now. A lot that needs to be organized.

Trask nods and purposfully steps aside making room so Remi can slip out without having to come near him, "Pleased to meet you again Miss Davignon" He touches a hand to his forhead in a light salute. In doing so of course he has to step away from where Liz and Jaiden are.

Elisabeth watches her go, a hint of worry in her blue eyes. When the telepath is far enough away, she looks up at both of the men. "I don't like that she's reliving my torture," she admits softly. "I don't…. know what it will do to her. God knows, it's fucked me up pretty massively. I thought I was over it. There's been enough bad between then and now that I thought it wouldn't even affect me." She grimaces a little. "Hell, I watched Cat execute the guy who actually did the torture. All Danko did was put the bullet in my head. I just… " She bites her lip and then shoves a hand through her hair. The adrenaline is easing, and she's starting to feel the effects of the crash coming. They'll be a while longer, though, giving her the time to really talk to the two of them.

"I'll help her through it, best I can. She trusts me pretty much implicitly, and knows that I'll do anything I can. Seeing what you saw, though…." Jaiden shakes his head slightly. "It'll hurt, but I'll get her through it."

Trask 's eyes watch Remi slip out and then move back to Liz and Jaiden. "well…I am sorry I over reacted. And if you want to grab me something for close quarters at some point I would definitly appreciate it." He then looks like he is about to slip out behind Remi.

Elisabeth's bitterness is there in her expression. "I didn't see anything," she tells Jaiden quietly. "It was always black. And always loud, except when they c-c-came." Those few words, stark as they are and punctuated by the hint of the stutter she eradicated as a child, paint an obscene picture. The only scars she carries are mental, but they are myriad. She smiles toward Trask. "Absolutely, Norton." The weariness shows in her face, but she makes the effort for him. "I'll see you in a while." She might nap. It's been a shit night, she reflects with a heavy sigh.

Saw, felt….whatever she went through, Jaiden'll help, but for now, Elisabeth is the one who needs it most. She only stutters when things are getting really bad, so Jaiden puts an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into a tight hug if she'll let him. "I've got a few things. We'll get together in the range in a few days and I'll run you through some paces."

Blowing out a breath, Elisabeth finally doesn't tense or back up when someone touches her. She simply nods and rests her forehead in Jaiden's shoulder, hugging him back. Norton stepping out brings back the low-level buzz of her ability still running a bit wild, but it disappears in moments. "For now, I'm going to catch some sleep," she tells him quietly. "And since I know the lot of you are going to wind up checking on me, just …. do it quietly, okay?" She grins a bit. "Norton'll stay close." After being here for weeks, the negator knows how bad the nightmares can get — she knows he won't go far after this little display. Standing on her toes to kiss Jaiden's cheek, the blonde slips away herself.


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